Category Archives: Cooking with Essential Oils

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Cucumbers are abundant this time of year. Perhaps you even have a bunch in your garden. Have you ever thought of using them to flavor water? Their flavor is subtle, but it’s so refreshing, especially when paired with lime essential oil. To make this essential oil–flavored water, just add a drop of lime essential oil to your water along with some cucumber slices.

Guidelines for Adding Essential Oils to Your Water:

This Natural Essential Oil Emulsifier really helps disperse the oils throughout your water. Just add 1 drop of emulsifier for every drop of essential oil. If you don’t want to use the emulsifier, then remember to shake the bottle to mix in the oils before drinking. When taken internally, essential oils can irritate the mucous membranes—especially when concentrated on the surface of the water—so make sure to add an emulsifier or shake the bottle really well before drinking.

Remember, a little goes a long way! If you don’t know whether you’ll like the taste, start out small—dip a toothpick in the oil and swish it in your water (the more you dip, the more oil you’ll get). A good rule of thumb is 1 drop oil to 1–4 cups of water.

Safety Note: Essential oils are very concentrated, and it is easy to overload the body if adding oils to your water every day. Occasionally is fine, but make sure to give your body a break in between uses.

Like this:

If you have a garden this summer and need an idea that uses tomatoes, look no further! This soup is perfect for the cooling days and it pairs wonderfully with our Rosemary Artisan Sourdough Bread. It can even be frozen and thawed for a later meal—just remember to add the essential oils after it has been reheated.

Instructions:

In a soup pot, saute butter/oil, onions, and carrots for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and tomato paste; stir for another minute.

Pour in the bone broth, and add the tomatoes.

Reduce heat to medium low and allow the soup to simmer for 20–30 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender (or use an immersion blender) and add honey, cream or avocado, and essential oils. Blend until smooth or as chunky as you like. You can also remove some of the tomatoes and chop them a little smaller and add them back to the soup after blending it. Add salt to taste.

Garnish with basil leaves and serve immediately.

Note: We like to make this in an electric pressure cooker. Follow the instructions above, but rather than simmering the soup, just secure the lid, seal the valve, and cook on high pressure (or use the soup setting) for 10 minutes then quickly release the pressure. Add honey and other ingredients before blending.

Do you have a pressure cooker? We love the way pressure cookers cook dishes faster and more “hands off.” Although cheesecake is often viewed as time consuming and a little tricky, cooking a cheesecake in the pressure cooker makes it fairly easy to get just right every time. The nice thing about using a pressure cooker is that it creates a built-in water bath that prevents cracking and gives the cheesecake a creamier texture.

We used an electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot®) and a 6″ × 3″ push pan. You can use a springform pan or even small (4–8 oz.) widemouthed mason jars for individual servings. If you have a stovetop pressure cooker, then heat it until you have low pressure and cook for 35 minutes; then remove from heat and allow the pressure to release naturally.

We know that not everyone has a pressure cooker, but they are a growing trend for a reason! If you don’t have a pressure cooker, just add 2 drops of citrus essential oil to your favorite cheesecake recipe, and bake it as normal. You’ll love the hint of citrus the oils add to the dish!

Sweet Cream Topping

Instructions:

Prepare a 6″ (15 cm) cheesecake pan by greasing it and lining the bottom with parchment paper.

Crust: To make the crust, place crackers and sugar in a blender, and pulse until small crumbs form.
Add the melted butter, and pulse until combined.

Firmly press the mixture in the bottom of the pan and up 1″ (2.5 cm) of the side of the pan. Place the pan in the freezer while you work on the filling.

Filling: For the filling, blend together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, and essential oils in an electric stand mixer or with a sturdy hand mixer. Blend until the mixture is smooth.

Add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, lightly mixing until just combined with each egg. Be careful not to overmix the eggs.

Pour the filling on top of the crust (make sure to cover the crust completely).

Pat the sides to get out as many air bubbles as possible. This can take a few minutes. You can also pop the air bubbles that come to the surface with a pointy knife or fork.

Cover the cheesecake with a paper towel, and then secure the paper towel with aluminum foil. Make sure none of the paper towel is visible (it can act as a wick and bring moisture to the surface of the cheesecake). Place the cheesecake in the middle of an aluminum sling (a long section of aluminum foil folded in thirds lengthwise).

Pour 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) of water into the pressure cooker, and place the trivet in the pot. Lift the cheesecake using the aluminum sling, and gently place it in the pressure cooker. Fold the sling over the cheesecake and secure the lid in place. Make sure the pressure valve is sealed.

Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, and allow the pressure to release naturally for 18 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.

After all the pressure has been released, gently lift the cheesecake out using the aluminum sling. Remove the foil and paper towel. Tilt the cheesecake pan, and dab off any liquid from the side of the pan. The center of the cheesecake should be a little jiggly, but not wet. Note: If it doesn’t look cooked enough (i.e., it looks too wet), return cheesecake to pressure cooker, and cook for 5 minutes with an 18-minute natural pressure release.

Sweet Cream Topping: Mix up the sweet cream topping by whisking the sour cream and sugar together until combined. Stir in a toothpick of tangerine essential oil if you want a little extra citrusy flavor. Spread the mixture on top of the cheesecake. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.

Lightly cover, and chill in the refrigerator. The pan can be removed easily after an hour in the refrigerator. If you want to eat it by that point, no one will blame you! However, the texture will improve significantly if it can chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Enjoy!

Extra Ideas:

If you don’t have a cheesecake pan, you can use small mason jars for single servings—just divide the ingredients among each of the jars. For 4 oz. widemouthed jars, cook for 4 minutes with a 15-minute natural pressure release. For 8 oz. widemouthed jars, cook for 7 minutes with a 15-minute natural pressure release.

If you have a stovetop pressure cooker, heat it until you have low pressure, and cook for 35 minutes; then remove from heat, and allow the pressure to release naturally.

Try experimenting with different cookies for the crust. Chocolate sandwich cookies, Biscoff®, vanilla wafers, ginger snaps, or other crispy cookies can be used.

Have you considered using your high-quality essential oils in your culinary creations but aren’t really sure where to begin? With just a few basic tips and guidelines, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a pro.

Quality Counts

Not all essential oil brands deliver the same level of purity. Be sure to choose therapeutic-grade oils from a trusted source that have been organically grown and properly distilled. And when adding them to your recipes, make sure they contain a supplement label indicating that they are safe and appropriate to ingest.

Less Is More

Essential oils are extremely concentrated, so a little goes a long way. When deciding how much to use in a recipe, think in terms of drops or toothpick measurements. A drop or two is plenty to flavor most dishes. Some of the thinner oils tend to come out of the bottle quickly, so dripping it onto a spoon and stirring it into your recipe at the end will help you avoid using too much and overpowering your dish. Start with a drop, and add more as needed. You can also pour some oil into a small sample size bottle, which dispenses it in half-drop increments.The toothpick method is achieved by dipping a toothpick into your desired bottle of essential oil and then swishing it around in your recipe. This method is especially helpful when making food in small batches or when using some of the stronger-flavored oils such as basil, cassia, cinnamon, dill, marjoram, oregano, or thyme.

Timing Is Important

In addition to flavoring your food, essential oils offer a variety of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual benefits. In order to reap these benefits, it’s a good idea to add your oil at the end of the cooking process whenever possible. This will ensure that the heat from cooking doesn’t diminish any of these additional benefits.

Citrus oils are a great place to start using essential oils in your recipes, because they are very forgiving, unlike some of the stronger oils. It’s hard to go wrong with Wild Orange, for example, with its pleasant, fresh, and uplifting flavor.

Smoothies are one of my favorite ways to use essential oils and, after lots of trial and error, I have come to rely more on the citrus oils like bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, lime, and Wild Orange.

Making guacamole? Try adding 1 drop each of lime, black pepper, and cilantro.

Salad dressing also marries well with essential oils—particularly basil, oregano, and thyme. Remember to go easy on these, as they are on the stronger side.

Making a marinade? Add in some ginger and/or lemongrass oil.

When using turmeric in a recipe, such as the popular Ayurvedic beverage known as golden milk, add in 1 drop of black pepper, which works synergistically with turmeric to boost its effectiveness.

Nothing quite compares to the flavor and freshness of homemade non-dairy milk, made without any of the usual additives found in the store-bought varieties. Almond and brazil nut milk are favorites around our house, and adding cardamom or cinnamon essential oil delivers an exceptionally tasty result. Want to give it a try? Here’s a quick and easy recipe.

Instructions:

Place half of the water (2 cups or 1/2 liter) in a high-speed blender with the nuts, and blend well. Note: The nuts blend better when you start off with less water. Next, add in the remainder of the water, and blend again briefly.

Pour the mixture through a strainer or filter through a nut milk bag, reserving the nut meat for another recipe.

Put the milk back in the blender, add your cardamom, and blend again, just enough to mix. If you want to add a small amount of sweetener, this is a good time to do that.

Note: I rarely use sweetener and don’t really recommend it unless you plan to drink the milk plain. It’s not really necessary if it’s being added to a smoothie or enjoyed over a bowl of granola or some other recipe that already contains an element of sweetness.

About the Author

Madeline Eyer is a certified integrative nutrition health coach, a holistic health coach, and an essential oil enthusiast. She is the author of two books, Essential Green Smoothies and Essential Sauces, Dips & Dressings, bridging essential oils and healthy eating. Her joy and passion is in empowering families to enjoy the many benefits of eating a clean, nutrient-rich diet that is delicious and fun, with a special fondness for supporting families in feeding their children food that nourishes their growing bodies and minds.

Instructions:

Mix ingredients, except essential oils, together in a medium bowl.

Cook mixture over medium heat for 20 minutes or so until hot and bubbly. This can be done on the stovetop, in the oven, in a slow cooker, or wrapped in aluminum foil and grilled or roasted over an open fire.

With school back in session, it’s the perfect time to get ready to teach new essential oil classes. AromaTools has some new materials that are perfect for sending your attendees home with the important information from your class.These mini tear pads are less expensive and less bulky than regular sized tear pads, which makes them easy to carry around and to hand out to interested people or class attendees. Here are a few class ideas that you can do with each mini tear pad:

The Aromatherapy Mini Tear Pad is great for teaching the basics of using essential oils aromatically. It includes information on how aromatic use is beneficial to the body and ways to diffuse or inhale the aroma of an essential oil. Also included are some perfume blends and diffuser blends. Here are a few ideas for using this tear pad in your essential oil classes:

Simple Make & Take: Provide the oils used on the tear pad along with some mini roll-on bottles or mini sample bottles. Allow each attendee to make one of the blends listed on the back of the tear pad and take home a sample of their choice. You may want to also provide some fractionated coconut oil to dilute the perfume blends (just top off the bottle) for attendees with sensitive skin (or the elderly).

The Topical Application Mini Tear Pad teaches the basics of using essential oils topically. It includes information about why topical application benefits the body and ways to use essential oils topically. On the back, you will find essential oil suggestions for massage oil and a couple bath blends.

The Dilution Mini Tear Pad goes hand-in-hand with the Topical Application Mini Tear Pad, or it can be used separately. When teaching about using essential oils topically, you’ll want to include information about how to properly dilute essential oils for daily use, short-term use, or use on young, sensitive, or elderly skin. This tear pad includes common carrier oils for dilution, suggests roll-on bottles as handy aids, and has a dilution chart showing how many drops of carrier oil to use.

Make & Take Ideas: Allow your attendees to make a roller bottle blend to take home. Provide essential oils, roll-on bottles, carrier oils, and blend suggestions (find some here and here) related to whatever class you are teaching. If needed, you can charge a small amount of money per blend to help cover your costs.

The Internal Application Mini Tear Pad teaches which oils can be used internally, why internal use of essential oils can be beneficial for the body, and how to use essential internally. It also includes a few simple recipes for using essential oils in food or drink.

Essential Oil Refreshments: Make some of the simple recipes on the back of the tear pad to serve as a refreshment, and allow your attendees the opportunity to try the essential oils internally through food or drink.

The EOs & Cooking Mini Tear Pad outlines the benefits for using essential oils in your cooking, and the back covers guidelines for substituting essential oils for zest, herbs, or spices commonly used in cooking recipes. This tear pad can be used on its own or along with the Internal Application Mini Tear Pad.

Essential Oil Refreshments: If you want to include essential oil refreshments at any class, it may be a good idea to include this tear pad on the refreshment table so that your attendees can learn how to cook with essential oils on their own.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas for using these mini tear pads? Comment below. We’d love to learn from you!

Don’t have an ice cream maker? Try making ice cream in a BlenderBottle®! It’s a fun activity for a family or small group. Just throw the ingredients in, take turns shaking it up until it gets thick, then freeze until solid and ready to eat. The ball whisk gives it a great texture and makes the mixing part easier. If you have a larger group, you can put your mixture in a few different pint- or quart-sized mason jars and move the ball whisk from one jar to the next until all jars have been shaken and frozen.

Essential oil–flavored butter can be used for so many different things! Just think of the possibilities! Try a cinnamon-ginger-maple combination atop pumpkin pancakes. Or try lemon or orange butter for muffins or sweet breads. Maybe a cilantro-lime combination on your corn? Or sauté your vegetables in an Italian-flavored butter. Be daring and turn a sweet lavender butter into buttercream frosting to top your lemon cupcakes!

This recipe combines coconut oil and butter together for a healthier oil that has a higher smoke point than butter alone, so it really can be used on whatever you desire!

Whipped & Flavored Coconut Butter

Ingredients & Supplies:

1/2 cup (96 g) coconut oil

1/2 cup (113 g) butter, softened

Honey or maple syrup, to taste (for sweet butter)

1–3 drops essential oil (see suggestions below)

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, whisk until creamy. Note: if your coconut oil is too soft, you can whisk the ingredients together a little, then place in the fridge for 5–10 minutes before whisking it again.

Start with just a drop (or a toothpick dip) of your chosen essential oil, whisk, and taste before adding more.
You can combine essential oil flavors as desired, but keep adding to taste. It is easy to add too much essential oil (but you can always use that butter in cooking if it gets too strong for your taste).

Store butter on the counter in an airtight glass container (a mason jar works great!).

Go ahead and repeat the title of this recipe—it is seriously so fun to say! Coco-Cacao Mint Fudgsicles (it’s pronounced “ko-ko kuh-kow”). Coco-Cacao Mint Fudgsicles. Coco-Cacao Mint Fudgsicles. Now keep chanting the name as you throw the ingredients in the blender. It’s almost as fun to say as it is to eat these yummy, healthy treats!